Most important DVD release to date? Why?
 

In "the" Indiana Jones Trilogy thread (they've all blurred into one at this point), the trilogy was referred to the as the most important release in the 6 year history of DVD's (paraphrased). It struck me that that was rather a bold statement, but I couldn't figure out what other release might be considered the most important DVD release to date. The Godfather Trilogy crossed my mind, but I can't decide if that is my choice.

Any thoughts on this one? The official question is: Which DVD release, to date, has been the most important and why (technical acheivement, availibility of the film, best use of technology, etc.). Note: While your choice might also be your favorite DVD, that is not what I am looking for. I am specifically looking for the importance of the release to the "movie world".

I'm a little suprised at myself for how mich I am looking forward to the responses to this post. :)

Maybe I'm just looking forward to a non-Indy thread. :D

The Matrix.

It was the first best-selling DVD and it further fostered the acceptance of this technology.

It also made me buy my first DVD player.

The first one (whatever it was), because it was the first.

(If you don't have the first, you can't have the second right? And then you have none? -wink- )

Goodburger, because it put all those jokes to rest.

word

Whichever one has the clearest widescreen educational feature-maybe Die Hard (Five-Star)?

I agree with the Matrix. Like the movie or not, i think it was the first "must buy" movie, and showed how the popularity of a movie could grow from home video sales. It's special effects and memorable scenes gave a reason to show off a home theater system. Think how cool it was to skip ahead to the dojo fight between Morpheus and Neo for the first time... and watching it again and again.

Maybe Armageddon:CC, the first 2 disk set. It exploited the vast array of additional material that can enhance the home video watching experience.

Do you have to even ask?
It's self-evident......

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/image..._49/199545.jpg






:)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

...because it turned me on to the world of Bava.

I assure you, something else was a best-selling DVD before The Matrix.

Just for a different answer, I'll say The Simpsons Complete Season One set. Its runaway success really opened the floodgates for TV shows on DVD.

If you combine consumer demand for a film(s) and the wait to get it I would say that Indiana Jones trilogy is the most important release until the Star Wars trilogy of course.

I would not include the Godfather trilogy only because of the horrible video quality of the set!

I'm probably going to get beaten with sticks, but what about SW Ep. 1 for it brilliant use of the media? The menus are exceptionally detailed and interactive and it contains excellent examples of just about every possible extra feature that there is (including incorporated web features). Of the top of my head, I'm not able to think of any others that did this before SW did?

Plus it has the THX Optimizer, which I could play with for hours. I love the sound it makes when it tests my sub. :D

Well, being able to put the words "Star Wars" and "DVD" in the same sentence without the word "not" was important.

Malcolm X, because it's the one I'm watching right now, reminding me every second what a great format this is.

I'd say The Matrix. It was probably just a matter of timing, but in the early days of dvd, if people had a dvd player, they had to have The Matrix dvd.

And I can assure you that there were many successful TV shows on DVD before The Simpsons. If anything could claim responsibility for opening the floodgates of TV shows on DVD, it would have to be The X-Files. Before that series, it was widely believed that season sets of TV shows could not possibly sell well. BTW, I don't even own any of the X-Files DVDs, but I do own many of the series that followed after.

As far as non-TV DVDs, it would be almost impossible to choose, but if I really had to choose one and only one, I would have to say that Metropolis is the most important DVD released to date, not only because it is a profound piece of cinematic art, but because of the historical significance of having it available in such a remarkably restored form.

By far The Matrix

Made the movie larger than life once on DVD. And like it was said, if you had a DVD player you owned this movie.

Second is FOTR: EE.

:up: RoboDad said it!

Actually . . . didn't own it, still don't, and don't plan on it until the boxed set comes out. But I have seen it and it is an impressive release. Still . . . I don't think I agree on it as "the most important".

first release yes, but not most important.

Indy is by far the most important. people have been waiting along time for this. if matrix and Indy were released Indy would be the no brainer pick. matric is a great movie and I have watched it many times but I have watched indy many more and will watch it many more times than matrix. I own both but and buy both but if it was a choice I wouldnt even notice matrix was sitting next to indy.

anyway star wars trilogy will blanket every dvd ever out there!

See sig. :D

While I was in college I worked in sales at Circuit City and more people came in to buy a DVD Player and the Matrix than any other movie...by far. People heard how great the DVD was from friends, and that movie alone was enough for them to buy a player. So if you are looking for a movie that is important not only for its techinical achievement, but also for it spreading DVD technology as a whole, then there is no doubt that it's The Matrix.

Matrix

rotfl

It was definately the Matrix. Not only was it the fastest selling DVD at the time, it helped sell many DVD players.

I remember seeing the DVD player sales numbers around that time and they dramatically increased after the release of the Matrix.

I agree, which is why my choice is The X-Files: The Complete First Season. :)

Rob

Hmmm...I think Gladiator could give Matrix a run for its money, and wasn't it the best selling 2-disc DVD set for sometime? And wasn't it the first one to do the DD/DTS track combo? Not sure but I think that's when DVDs really spread to the mainstream. Matrix only attracted the tech-buffs like us, IMO, but Gladiator made the casual moviegoer more giddy than usual for it.

The Matrix, and I don' think it's close.

Not knowing what the first commercial DVD was, I'd say it's not that because whatever it is, it didn't push the acceptance of the format.

How is Indiana Jones important at all? I doubt Indy is in the top 50 most important. The format has long been established and we're waiting for the next one now (HD-DVD). Maybe Indy will come out early after HD-DVD debuts and be important for that format, but it's just too late for it to be an important DVD.

As for television DVDs, I think the first major one (if that's X-Files season one, then that), should be awarded the worst in the history of DVD. Isn't the purpose of DVDs so we have something to watch other than the rubbish on the tele?

I dont ever remember going into a store and just about eveyone has Indy in their hands. I dont remember that happening when I went to buy the matrix when it was released.

The Matrix.. without a doubt. It used never before seen special effects, and a very indepth plot and story especially after Reloaded was released. Out of all the people I've talked to, The Matrix is the most common first-buy DVD. I think for the people that were still iffy about switching over to the DVD format, it helped them make the switch.

Indiana Jones, while being a groundbreaking film release, is not a major -DVD- release in my opinion.

As far as being a reference quality disc and helping DVD grow, there isn't much argument against the Matrix in my opinion. While Indy may have had that effect back in '99, the majority of people have already switched to DVD.

Like I've said numerous times, the premise of another format is not as appealing as you might think.

5 minutes after DVDs were beginning to be produced, new and better formats were invented. But they haven't taken off.

HD-DVD (IMHO) may go the way of the laserdisc.

The public has just now begun to accept the fact that DVDs are the new standard. Techies may be prone to switching formats, but the public is not.

You think the majority of the people out there are going to buy into: "You just upgraded to DVD. But wait! There's something better now! HD-DVD will be sooo much better! Well, it will if you have a $30,000 home theatre setup, but still! Buy it anyways!"

Nah. DVD made the jump because it beat VHS hands down in every aspect.

I doubt that HD-DVD will be able to make the same claims to the average consumer.

My first statement didn't really have anything to do with my second. Anyway, despite your very good argument, I disagree with The X-Files, mainly because of the retail price point. But I admit I don't know what the sales figures were like for X-Files season one.

I think the Matrix is very important, because it really did get people to buy players and it does definitely seem like the odds are if someone owns a DVD player, they own The Matrix. My first thought though is always Fight Club, and I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. It is another title that seems like 90% of people with collections own. Plus, to me it was the first really excellent 2 disc set. It is still one of the most feature packed sets available (or unavailable depending on the whim of Fox Home Ent.) Now a 2 disc SE is standard, and I think that road was paved by Fight Club. Also, personally Fight Club beats Matrix every day of the week :)

Its the Matrix people. The previews of it that were on VHS rentals is what lead people to buy DVD players. The use of the "white rabbit mode" of viewing the movie proved to people how much more enhanced and feature rich watching a movie in DVD format could be.

Hands down its the Matrix.

Have to agree with the Matrix. It was the to really push the DVD format into the mainstream.

Yeah, I suppose it's The Matrix, because IIRC that was the first disc that had widespread problems with certain players that couldn't handle it. Because of what they learned from it, the studios made sure that discs would be authored to work with, and were tested on, a wide variety of players. Would we have flawless discs like LOTR: TTT, Monty Python ATHG, and Disney's Dinosaur: SE without it? I think not. :)

A few of the most notable, in my opinion.

Citizen Kane (Warner) - First effort by a major studio (and one of the most impressive) at presenting classic films in "special editions". The first of Warner's incredible special editions of classic movies.

Singin' in the Rain (Warner) - Best color transfer ever.

By Brakhage (Criterion) - First home video collection of one of the most important avant garde directors. One of the most daring and perfectly crafted DVD releases.

Fight Club (Fox) - Sthe standard for special editions.

Godfather Trilogy (Paramount) - Set the standard for boxed sets. One of the most wanted DVD releases of all time.

The Matrix (Warner) - Best selling DVD ever.

Brazil (Criterion) - Three disc set. One of the milestones in DVD special editions.

LoTR: FotR Extended Edition (New Line) - Easily THE standard for DVD presentation of a single movie.

Metropolis (Kino) - One of the most miraculous TRUE restorations ever crafted. Still waiting for a release of Greed, or of Napoleon.

Tokyo Story (Criterion, upcoming) - One of the greatest movies of all time, restored, released for the first time in the US on disc format. The rights were yanked from New Yorker Video (legendary for terrible DVDs of foreign films) early in the year, and the year marks the 100th anniversary of the director's birth, 40th anniversary of the director's death, and 50th anniversary of the film's release. The first of the "100th anniversary" restored Yasujiro Ozu films to be released on DVD in R1.

Grand Illusion (Criterion) - One of the record setters for delayed releases (if I remember correctly, delayed from March 98 until Sept 99), and Criterion's odyssey for the best possible print, remains a milestone effort for film restoration and preservation.

Sunrise (Fox) - First major studio effort in presenting silent films on DVD.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney) - The first of Disney's "platinum editions". Sets the standard for classic animated film on DVD.

Stanley Kubrick Collection (Warner) - The first collection was one of the great dissapointments in DVD history. The second collection rectified the mistake, and more.

High Noon (Artisan) - Mother always said there were no monsters, but she was wrong.

I vote Matrix as well. The Matrix got DVD into mainstream acceptance.

The X-Files Season 1 started the TV Shows on DVD and look where that has gone. X-Files is almost as important since TV shows on DVD have become so popular.